In many computer and network systems, multiple layers of security apparatus and software are deployed in order to detect and repel the ever-growing range of security threats. At the most basic level, computers use anti-virus software to prevent malicious software from running on the computer. At the network level, intrusion detection and prevention systems analyze and control network traffic to prevent malware from spreading through the network.
In this latter category, for example, U.S. Patent Application 2014/0165207 to Engel et al. describes a method and system for detecting anomalous action within a computer network. The method starts with collecting raw data from at least one probe sensor that is associated with at least one router, switch or server in the computer network. The raw data is parsed and analyzed to create meta-data from the raw data, and computer network actions are identified based on knowledge of network protocols. The meta-data or a higher level aggregation is associated with entities by analyzing and correlating between the identified network actions. A statistical model of the computer network is created, for detection of anomalous network actions associated with the entities.
As another example, U.S. Patent Application 2015/0358344 to Mumcuoglu et al. describes a method for computer system forensics that includes receiving an identification of at least one host computer that has exhibited an anomalous behavior, in a computer network comprising multiple host computers. Respective images of the host computers in the network are assembled using image information collected with regard to the host computers. A comparison is made between at least one positive image of the at least one host computer, assembled using the image information collected following occurrence of the anomalous behavior, and one or more negative images assembled using the image information collected with respect to one or more of the host computers not exhibiting the anomalous behavior. Based on the comparison, a forensic indicator of the anomalous behavior is extracted from the positive and negative images.
Documents incorporated by reference in the present patent application are to be considered an integral part of the application except that to the extent any terms are defined in these incorporated documents in a manner that conflicts with the definitions made explicitly or implicitly in the present specification, only the definitions in the present specification should be considered.
The description above is presented as a general overview of related art in this field and should not be construed as an admission that any of the information it contains constitutes prior art against the present patent application.